Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Website Review: Partnership for 21st Century Skills
I reviewed the website for the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (http://www.p21.org/index.php). As my district has placed an emphasis on teaching 21st century skills, I am somewhat well-versed in this area. Therefore, I did not glean any new information from this website in the aforementioned area. That said, this website has a variety of good resources and its mission is noble. While I agree that "every child in the U.S. needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders", we are not currently evaluated on that outcome. I also agree that "there is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces". For most of us, if not all of us, the end of year test is our major evaluation. Until these skills are given the respect that they deserve, through some form of evaluation of our effectiveness in teaching them, then they will repeatedly be put on the back burner in favor of the tested material. Fortunately, some are already integrated in the testing. Therefore, they are generally addressed properly. The skill of problem solving is the most relevant example. Another fortunate development is the anticipated move away from testing as the major form of teacher evaluation. My county has been offering portfolio evaluations for a couple of years now. These portfolio evaluations focus on student products and 21st century skills, as opposed to test scores. This development could allow teachers to focus more on the attributes that are promoted by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
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T.J.,I agree with you that until the end of the year test include 21st-century skills, we will have to revert back to "teaching to the test" at some level. I find that to be one of the more frustrating things about the expectations for teachers. I haven't heard of the portfolio evaluations for teachers. That very interesting. With all the emphasis on project-based learning, I think this would be a wonderful evaluation tool. When you say your county offers them, does that mean that students or teachers choose?
ReplyDeleteThe teachers could sign an agreement to be evaluated on the portfolio, as opposed to the standard observation and test scores evaluation.
ReplyDeleteHi Thomas--I agree--assessments can support the focus of instruction--if we assess our students by examining their products, we may be better able to connect content with 21st century skills--collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and self-directedness--skills not easy to identify and assess via a standardized multiple choice exam. Today's students need to be lifelong learners to be successful in the workplace--developing that confidence and self-directedness is a critical part of our focus.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting to your blog.